LU konferenceThe project aims to obtain a research-based representation of the roles of English and Latvian languages and their interaction in the development of Latvian diaspora texts (printed, digital, and audiovisual) as well as Latvian identity transformation in the global and virtual context.
The scientific team of this project will develop a research base for textual indicators of Latvian identity in texts both in English and Latvian produced by the members of the Latvian diaspora. This will enable researchers to measure the correlation between the text medium (printed, digital, audio, video) and the frequency of linguistic and cultural references to the Latvian identity.
At the national level, the project will help to achieve several goals provided in the latest diaspora policy documents: with an emphasis on knowledge transfer, the project will promote public understanding of the direct interaction and impact of historical and political events in Latvia in the 20th/21st century on Latvian literature, identity, belonging, and cultural processes. It will also update the awareness of the role of different languages and different text types in identity formation processes, bringing closer the texts written in Latvian and English based on common diaspora experiences.
Internationally, the project aims to ensure that Latvia’s contemporary diaspora textual experience would be included in the worldwide diaspora research paradigm.